Since the day Spencer Hawes set foot on the University of Washington campus as a student, there has always been speculation that his Husky basketball career would brief.
Even before that, there was a feeling he might not last long at Washington. While walking into Hec Edmundson Pavilion as a Seattle Prep senior, members of the Washington student section pleaded with the future Husky to stay at least two years.
On Monday, Hawes made it official that his college basketball days are over, announcing his decision to remain in the NBA draft.
The freshman center, who when he signed became one of the most heralded recruits in the program’s history, originally declared for the draft in April, but had until 2 p.m. Monday to remove his name from consideration if he wanted to continue his college career.
And while it has been widely expected that Hawes would indeed head to the NBA, the decision was not automatic for Hawes. There were conversations with his parents, with Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, with Washington teammate Jon Brockman, and with current Portland Trail Blazers Martell Webster, a Seattle Prep teammate, and Brandon Roy.
“I took my time making the decision,” Hawes said in a teleconference. “I went through all the pros and cons in my head, and at the end of the day, based on the feedback I received and trusting my gut instincts, I think this is the best decision.”
Hawes said he is likely to attend the June 28 draft in New York. He has not signed with an agent yet, and said that is the “next step in the process.”
“We support him wholeheartedly,” Romar said. “We want what’s best for him.”
During an injury and illness plagued freshman season – he had knee surgery before the year, injured his ankle during the season, and lost 20 pounds due to illness at one point in the season – Hawes averaged 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds to earn first-team honors on the All Pac-10 Freshman Team.
Hawes came to Washington as part of a strong freshman class expected to bring immediate success to the program. The Huskies struggled last season, however, going 19-12 overall and 8-10 in the Pac-10, failing to make the NCAA tournament or even the NIT.
As a senior in high school, Hawes talked about wanting to take the Huskies to the next level. Not reaching that goal made it hard to leave, he said.
“That’s something that eats away at me now and I think will continue to for the rest of my life,” he said. “But when it came down to it and I weighed everything, I think I made the best situation for me, and I just can’t look back and focus on what could have been and would have been.”
Hawes has worked out for five teams so far, and most draft prognosticators have him going somewhere between seventh and 12th in the first round of the draft.
Hawes, who showed an impressive array of offensive moves while at Washington, has had his athleticism criticized by some analysts. Romar isn’t worried about Hawes’ abilities.
“So much is being made of his perceived lack of athleticism, but I don’t see many highlights of Larry Bird dunking over people,” said Romar, before quickly mentioning that he wasn’t comparing Hawes to Bird.
Romar pointed out that when it comes to attracting top recruits, there are positives to a player leaving early.
“I think you can look at the University of Washington, and not say ‘I don’t know if I can make it to the next level from there,’” he said.
Hawes admits he needs to get stronger to play in the NBA, but also said he hasn’t resigned himself to spending his rookie year at the end of the bench.
“You have to try to prepare for that,” he said when asked about possibly limited playing time. “But if that’s your mindset, that’s the wrong mindset to have. If I thought I was going to go sit on a bench, I don’t think I’d be going.”
Without Hawes, the Huskies will look for injured center Joe Wolfinger to step up. Romar said Wolfinger is progressing well, and is participating in two-on-two and three-on-three drills. He is expected to play when the team travels to Greece in August.
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